Hidden
by applepumpkinpatch
Summary: Kalina knew that her life was bound to change on the day of her wedding, but she never expected a change quite like this. Thrust into a world where everything is unknown to her, she must outwit relentless enemies, find her inner power, discover the truth about who she is, and finally decide whether she belongs on the side of good or evil. Adventure, suspense and romance await.
1. Prologue

Hidden

By ApplePumpkinPatch

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, items, or places that you recognize. They all belong to the talented Mr. Tolkien. I am simply borrowing these elements to tell this story.

Thanks for beginning this ride with me. Here we go.

Hidden

_It's funny, the things you remember after something bad happens. The smallest and the most seemingly insignificant of moments which have passed you by without pause suddenly begin to replay in slow motion__,__ over and over again__,__ with torturous detail. The errors of your ignorance light up like beacons, begging you see the reasons you should have stayed a little longer__,__ and ignored whatever you thought was more important at the time._

_The moments that you took for granted have become cruel manifestations. Cruel manifestations that leave you powerless over the things that you could have changed in the span of seconds and that will forever haunt you with the question of "what if?" The past is clearer to you now than when it was in the moment, and the things you didn't think you saw are eternally branded upon your memory with blinding clarity._

_You cannot change the past you begin to realize, and yet every time these moments blur your vision you cannot help but try and undo what has or has not been done; an act that will forever result in a lingering failure. It is a failure that burns at your soul each time you walk past a familiar room, put on a particular piece of clothing, or look at a certain __image__. It is a failure which accuses you of all that you should have done but didn't, and it does so __accompanied__by the music of__ scornful and sarcastic laughter._

_You will never forget. You will never make amends._

Prologue

"Will he recover?"

The tone of the Elvenking's question held little to no emotion. There was a tinge of disdain, but to anyone who was unfamiliar with King Thranduil, he would have seemed to be completely indifferent about whether the figure lying on the bed in front of him would survive the night. His crossed arms and passive expression also gave indication about his lack of concern, but Naryn knew better.

"I believe he will" Naryn replied as he pulled the blanket up over the unconscious dwarf. "He sustained several serious injuries, but he should recover. It will be a slow recovery no doubt, but with time, there should be no lasting effects." Naryn could tell immediately that his King was less than pleased about the 'slow recovery' he spoke of, but he also knew that Thranduil needed answers from the dwarf, and so recovery was the response that had been hoped for. As the kingdom's head healer, Naryn had known Thranduil for centuries, and he could see past the cold exterior that the King was putting on. He could see the feelings that the King was successfully hiding from everyone else. They were feelings of bitterness, anger, frustration, and fear.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation and it was followed by the entry of a single elven guard. "Your highness" the guard began with a slight bow that Thranduil did not turn his gaze from the dwarf to see. "The other prisoner has awoken. She seems more willing to cooperate. She has asked to speak with you again."

Thranduil was unimpressed upon hearing this. Without acknowledging the information that had just been given to him, Thranduil instead posed a question to the guard. "And my son? What news do you bring me of him?"

It was a question that the guard had dreaded being asked. A surge of panic flowed through him as a silence lingered after the question had been posed. Naryn looked to the guard with an expression of sympathy, as he understood how difficult it could be to deliver bad news to the King. Especially when it was bad news regarding the welfare of the Prince. It was probably only a second or two before the guard's lack of response finally earned him the eyes of the King, and it was a stare that made him want to sink into a deep, dark hole in the ground. Knowing that silence was not going to be an acceptable answer, the guard finally forced himself to speak the words that he did not want to say.

"No news yet, your highness. However we have not stopped in our search. With a little bit of luck, we have no doubt that we shall find him soon."

The guard was right. This was not what the King wanted to hear. If emotions were hidden from Thranduil's features before, they were clear as day now. Rage blazed in his cerulean eyes as he took a step towards the guard. "Luck?" he repeated with disgust. "I ask you for news about the well being of your Prince, and you tell me that you are relying on luck as a means of finding him?"

"My King..." Naryn began, hoping to provide some assistance to the guard, but Thranduil ignored him.

"Luck is for the weak and incompetent" the King continued. "Tell me, are you weak and incompetent?"

"No" replied the guard.

"Are your soldiers weak and incompetent?"

"No, your highness."

"Good. Then you will disregard this notion of luck. You will go out there and perform your duty. You will go out there and you will find my son. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your highness." With another quick bow, the guard quickly left the room.

Thranduil gave one last glance at the unconscious dwarf as he addressed Naryn once again. "I am to be alerted immediately when he wakes up. And he does not leave this room without my consent under any circumstances. He is not even allowed to _die_ without my consent, do you understand?"

Naryn nodded. "I understand" he replied as he then performed a rather bold gesture by placing a reassuring hand on the King's shoulder. The look of surprise shone in Thranduil's eyes for less than a second at the action. Naryn's understanding was not just of the orders that he had been given, but also as to why they had been given and how. It was a mutual understanding between the King and healer, and for the briefest of moments, Thranduil embraced the offered comfort.

"If I am needed, I will be in the dungeons. I have a prisoner to interrogate." Naryn nodded and returned to his work as Thranduil exited the room and made his way down the hall towards the holding cells.

.

.

Kalina's head was throbbing as she forced herself to sit upright in the small cell. Her vision was far less cloudy than it had been when she had passed through the gates of Mirkwood, and she could tell, by the bandages on her arms and torso, that she had been tended to while she had been unconscious. The physical pain had lessened, that much was certain, but Kalina was still haunted by the emotional pain of what had happened within the last twelve hours. The horror still lingered. The anger still lingered. And most of all, the guilt still lingered.

"I understand that you are ready to talk" The commanding voice of the King, from outside her cell door, interrupted her train of thought. Kalina immediately rose from the bed she sat on and moved to stand in front of him, all the while ignoring the nausea that the move caused her to feel.

"Yes." The shaky response came out with more than a tinge of desperation in it. Kalina could feel the tears begin to pour down her cheeks as she looked up into the eyes of the elf in front of her. She was scared of him. Scared of the anger he radiated. Scared of the way he looked down at her. Scared of what his reaction would be when he found out about what had happened. Scared of the answer he would give her to the question she forced herself to ask. "How is my friend?

"It seems that you are mistaken as to how this is going to work. You do not get to ask the questions. I will be the one asking the questions."

"Your Highness, please.." Kalina did not get to finish her plea, as Thranduil continued to speak over her as though he did not hear her at all.

"My questions are few, and very simple, so that even the dullest of minds may understand clearly the information that I am after. "

"You want to know where your son is." Interruption was contagious it seemed, and rather than being annoyed with this, Thranduil let out the first smile he had in a long time.

"Yes." The reply was simple, complex, cold, demanding, and desperate all at the same time.

Kalina wanted to give an answer that would please him, but she knew that she could not. She took a deep breath and held back any of the tears that wanted to escape. "I do not know where your son is." Kalina was both surprised and impressed with how evenly she had spoken this response. She hadn't shaken and shrunk away from the King this time, even though she desperately wanted to. Her hysterics hadn't worked since she had first encountered Thranduil and his guards, so she knew if this conversation was going to go anywhere, she'd have to hold herself together. It was taking a lot of effort though, and she had a feeling that not saying the names of her friends was helping a tad. Despite that, the response she got from Thranduil made it even harder to keep composed.

"Then this conversation is over. You will stay here, and you will rot away in that cell."

"Wait!" Kalina's composure started breaking as the King started to walk away. "Please."

Thranduil paused, and turned his head slightly so that Kalia could see his profile as she grasped the bars frantically. "You claim not to know where my son is, yet you somehow managed to find your way into my kingdom using a path that only my son or I may have unlocked for you. I assume it was my son, as you were found with one of his knives on you." Thranduil didn't bother mentioning that the knife was covered in blood, and his fear that it might belong to his missing heir.

Memories started to flood back for Kalina of the last time she had seen the Prince, and she felt her hands start to shake. "Please," she began again, keeping her voice as steady as she could muster. "My friend was badly hurt. Please, you have to tell me if he is alright." He had to be alright. He had to.

That did it. If Thranduil had been trying to keep his composure, he abandoned the task entirely.

"I do not have to tell you anything!" He declared as he moved back to the cell door with such speed that it caused Kalina to move backwards, away from him. "I do not have to tell you if my healers were able to save his miserable life. I do not have to tell you if he died in agony." Kalina's eyes began to tear up as he spoke to her with a voice filled with complete repulsion. "Something has become of my son, who certainly provided you some sort of aid to get into those tunnels. And rather than tell me the truth about his condition or whereabouts, you stand there and lie to me, pretending to know nothing. After which, you then try to demand that I provide you answers about the condition of that stupid creature you dragged along with you."

That did it. Kalina abandoned the task of trying to keep her composure entirely.

"That stupid creature has a name." She moved up against the bars again, and she finally found the courage to look Thranduil dead in the eye. "His name is Gimli, and he is one of Legolas' dearest friends." She knew immediately that saying their names out loud had broken her resolve to stay calm. She could also see that Thranduil recognized the change in her as well by the way he now studied her reddening face.

"Gimli has to be okay. He has to, because I promised Legolas that he would be." She was crying openly now. "I am not lying to you, I swear. Yes, Legolas did help us get to the tunnels, but he did not follow. He couldn't. We were ambushed and he was trapped. He told me to run, to get Gimli to safety. I lost sight of him. I didn't want to leave him there..."

"But you did." It was not a question. Thranduil was accusing her, and his expression was unreadable again.

Kalina's tears stopped as she nodded. She accepted responsibility for her actions. For all of it. "Yes. I left Legolas there, and they took him."

Took him. Thranduil rose a brow at this. Not killed; they took him. "Who are _they_?"

"The creatures that are after me. They've been hunting me for months. Legolas and Gimli have been trying to help me figure out why, but so far the answers have been few and far between." It was true, and while Thranduil could not pinpoint exactly what it was that told him so, he knew she was telling him the truth now.

The King considered the girl in front of him for a moment before he spoke to her again. "These creatures.." he began slowly, "why, if they were after you, would they take my son instead? And where would they have taken him?" A sinking feeling began to fill Thranduil's chest as he considered the darkness that had haunted his heart as of late. Despite the growing peace that had resulted in Sauron's defeat, Thranduil had a sense that not all evil had been extinguished, and he feared that his son had put himself in the path of it yet again.

Kalina's features nakedly expressed her regret and guilt. "I have no idea. This whole situation stems from a very long story, and sadly, there is so much of this story that I still do not know."

A long story? "Then I suggest you begin this story now" Thranduil insisted.

Kalina nodded and took a deep breath, but as she was about to speak, the King spoke again. "The dwarf will live." She looked up at him as he said this, and for the first time since coming to Mirkwood, she felt a small sense of relief. She had kept her promise to Legolas. And while it didn't bring the elf back to her safely, it eased a bit of the worry tugging on her heart.

"Now, I will accept no more delay. You say that Legolas has been taken. His life is no doubt as risk. I would know everything. Start from the beginning."

Kalina wiped her eyes, and did as she was told. "It all started about three months ago. On the day I met your son." Kalina paused briefly as she met the steel eyes of the King that stood in front of her with his arms crossed expectantly. She braced herself to tell the story of what had led her to this jail cell, with one friend severely wounded, and theother, the elf she had come to adore,missing.

"This story begins like a lot of them do. With a wedding. My wedding."


	2. Just Around the River Bend

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, items, or places that you recognize. They all belong to the talented Mr. Tolkien. I am simply borrowing some of these elements to tell this story.

I also do not hold claim to any characters or songs owned by Disney. I am just borrowing one of the songs as inspiration for this chapter. As you will learn, each chapter from here on out will be named after a song that I feel best suits the mood within it.

Shout out: Thank you to everyone who gave this story a chance. Your support means a lot! It has taken me some time to get back to posting more chapters, but everything is back on track. This chapter begins Part One of Hidden, where we get to meet a few more characters (hint, hint – one might be our missing Prince), and we'll go to back the beginning of Kalina's tale.

Now, my friends, onwards we go.

Hidden

Part One

Chapter 1 – Just Around the River Bend

"You look absolutely lovely, my dear."

Kalina smiled at hearing these words as she looked down at her gown.

"Honestly, no one has ever looked more beautiful."

"Aww, Maggie, thank…" was the beginning of Kalina's reply, before she was abruptly cut off by the other young girl in the room.

"Really, mom? You think so?" The voice belonged to Ainsley, Maggie's daughter, and Kalina's soon to be sister in law. "I panicked when Kalina picked out this dress. And in yellow of all colours!"

"Well next time you'll know to trust me" Kalina cut in with a cold expression. "After all, like your mom said, no one has ever looked more beautiful than you do today."

Ainsley's face immediately lit up. "It still would have looked better in teal. But, thank you."

Maggie laughed, and ushered her daughter out of the room, insisting that she help make sure all the guests were getting seated properly. She then proceeded to help fluff Kalina's dress. "It was very nice of you to ask Ainsley to be in the wedding. The girl has such low self-esteem, and she really looks up to you."

Kalina fought the urge to roll her eyes. Ainsley did not have low self-esteem, and she certainly didn't look up to anyone. She was just a spoiled little princess that would have spent the entire day in fits of attention-grabbing antics had she not been included. Still, Kalina knew it was better to try and form a "friendly" bond with the sister of her betrothed.

"It's such a shame that you have no sisters of your own" Maggie continued, as she helped fit the veil on top of Kalina's head. "I have four, and we did everything together. It was nice to have a set of friends that couldn't ditch you, even if you begged them to. We always wanted Ainsley to have a sister, but at least she had Nigel. Honestly, siblings are a gift to be cherished."

"So I've heard" Kalina replied, smiling again. Nigel had never referred to his little sister as gift. But still, she couldn't deny that there was some truth in Maggie's words. "Thank you, Maggie," she began, changing the subject off of the attention-grabber for a second. "Thank you for all of your help with everything. It means a lot."

"It's my pleasure, sweetheart. After all, I'm sure that Nigel was of hardly any use during all of this. His mind is always off in one of those fairy tale books he likes so much. I'm actually surprised that that he came back to Earth long enough to find a woman of his own."

Kalina forced a smile at this. Yes, it was true that Nigel was constantly wrapped up in fantasy worlds. He was a scholar, studying to be a university professor of science fiction and fantasy literature; and when his mind wasn't in one of the books he read over and over again, he usually sat in front of his computer, playing some sort of fantasy video game. Still, she liked that about him. He cared so much about the characters he read about, or interacted with in the games he played. She found it so amusing how often he would try to get her excited about them as well, regardless of how much she resisted. He made her laugh. He was a kind man, and he was one of her dearest friends. She loved him for that, and that was why, when he had proposed, she had said yes.

Yet, still there was a tinge of doubt.

"See you out there, my dear" said Maggie, as she left the room, and left Kalina to her own musings.

The young bride looked at herself in the mirror as she pondered why a lump had formed in the pit of her stomach. It had started about a week ago, and she hadn't been able to shake it since. It was a sinking feeling that kept asking her difficult questions about her relationship with Nigel. "Is he really the one?" or "Does your life really make you happy?" it would ask. Today was no exception. "Would he hate me if I changed my mind about all of this?"

She shook her head, and tried to ban the questions from her mind. It all had to just be a case of cold feet. Cold feet were natural. Cold feet were normal. Yes, what she was feeling was completely normal.

Kalina smiled finally, as she took in her reflection. She cleaned up pretty well if she said so herself. Her long dark hair, that was usually tied up in a pony tail, hung freely in curls down her shoulders, and her long gown framed her form in a flattering way that her typical jeans and hoodie did not. Her make-up was subtle, and allowed her freckles to shine through, and she wore no jewellery except for the small necklace of a willow tree that she never took off. She felt feminine and pretty. Like Cinderella at the ball or something. That feeling is what inspired her to immediately pick up her phone and start her playlist of Disney music; and right as "Just Around the River Bend" began to play, she heard a knock on the door.

"Kali, can I come in?"

It was Nigel. But before Kalina could turn around and object, he had come in and quietly closed the door behind him.

"Wow" he said with a smile. "You look beautiful."

"Nigel!" Kalina scolded. "You're not allowed to be in here. The groom isn't suppose to see the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck." There were those knots in her stomach again.

"No, I think what's bad luck is the fact that you're in here alone, listening to a song about a girl wondering if she should get married or not." Nigel's smirk was infectious, and for a moment, Kalina forgot all about the worries she had been feeling. "Seriously, it's worrying. She doesn't end up marrying the guy, and then he ends up dying later on. Not exactly a great omen for the first day of the rest of our lives together."

"You did stay awake during the movie!" Kalina exclaimed with a laugh. "I could have sworn that you fell asleep."

"Trust me, of all the chick flick movies you have made me watch over the years, that one wasn't half bad. It wasn't accurate, but it wasn't a bad film."

The couple shared another smile and sat down beside one another on the couch. Silence lingered for a couple of minutes before Nigel spoke again. "How are you doing?"

Kalina was a bit surprised by the question. "What do you mean?" She knew what he meant.

Nigel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Kalina watched his floppy curls bounce as he did this. "I mean how are you doing?" he repeated serously. "You don't seem as happy about today as I expected."

Kalina took his hand, and offered a comforting smile. "I am just feeling a bit overwhelmed" she admitted. "I love you, but I think the whole 'our life begins today' idea is throwing me a little."

"I know what you mean" he agreed with a chuckle.

"You have cold feet too?" Kalina asked. Relieved a little to hear this.

"Of course I have cold feet" Nigel replied. "But I'm honestly satisfied with our life together. So I'm sure everything can only get better from here on out."

This wasn't exactly an example of Nigel's best when it came to providing comfort. Kalina sighed again. "You're satisfied?" she questioned. It wasn't the word she had hoped for.

"Sure I am" Nigel answered, unaware of her disappointment. "Why wouldn't I be? You're my best friend, Kali." This answer should have made her smile, but she found herself having to force it again. "Why? Aren't you?" It was a fair question.

"I am satisfied, Nigel. You're my best friend too." It was an honest answer.

"Good" he replied, as he placed a kiss upon her brow and stood up. "Oh, and by the way, your uncle showed up."

Kalina frowned. "Uncle? I don't have an Uncle."

Nigel shrugged. "Then he's a party crasher. Not to worry, I'll sick Ainsley on him" he added with a laugh. He opened the door, but paused when Kalina placed a hand on his forearm.

"I love you, Nigel" she said earnestly.

"Me too" he mouthed cutely and left the room.

The chiming of the clock alerted Kalina that she needed to finish getting ready, and make her way into the crowded church. She looked down at her engagement ring and admired it fondly. Yes, she did love Nigel. He was a better man than she probably deserved, and he did make her happy. There may not have been fireworks between them, and he might have used the word satisfied to define how he felt about their life together, but still, he was someone that she could not picture her life without. So, after taking a deep breath, she smiled and placed her veil on.

"There we go" Kalina said calmly, as she then picked up her phone to change the song that was playing to one a little more lovey-dovey, when suddenly there was another knock on the door. "I'll be out in a second" she called out.

"It's just your Uncle Eli, my dear" came the voice on the other side of the door.

"Uncle Eli?" She replied, more to herself than anything. She shook her head. So much for Ainsley getting rid of the party crashers. She made towards the door, adjusting her dress as she did so. "I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken" she said as she opened the door and came face to face with the middle aged man on the other side. He was haggard looking, but you could tell that he had once been handsome. He wore a long black overcoat, and mud soaked boots that made her instinctively take a step backwards from him to protect her white dress. He smiled at her, and suddenly the sinking feeling appeared in her stomach again. Only this time, she knew it wasn't cold feet. It was something else. Something more akin to fear.

"I've spent a long time looking for you my dear, Rathewyn."

"What?" Kalina was baffled. "Look, I think you're confusing me with someone else" she continued, but was cut off as the man reached out and placed one of is scabby hands on her shoulder.

Flash. That was the only way to describe what happened next. A surge of light exploded from the place where he had touched her skin, and while she felt no pain, Kalina did find herself thrown backwards as the world around her went completely white.

.

.

.

.

The next thing she knew she opened her eyes, and found herself looking up into a canopy of branches and foliage. With a grumble, Kalina forced herself to sit upwards, only to have her head jerked back as he veil caught hold of a nearby plant. It hurt, and Kalina let out a curse, as she awkwardly pulled the veil out of her hair and loosened it from the plant as well. It was torn, and dirty now. "Aww, you see, this is why I'm not allowed to have nice things" she whined, as she took in the rest of her new surroundings.

She was definitely in the woods. "How in the world did I get here?" she asked out loud, wondering if she was dreaming. She found herself stumbling slightly as she made her was across the forest floor in the high heels she was wearing. She debated taking them off, but her mind switched thoughts as she noticed that the willow tree necklace that she wore around her neck had started to glow green. She watched it for a moment, and became certain that she had to be dreaming as it suddenly shattered into what looked like green glitter and began to float in front of her in a cloud-like formation.

"Well, it's never done that before" she joked to herself, as she felt drawn to reach out and touch it. She didn't get the chance. For as soon as she reached out her hand, the cloud started to move away from her with great speed. It was as though it were a cloud of green glitter bugs that dared not allow her near them.

Kalina rose an eyebrow, and glanced around her skeptically. This was certainly the strangest dream she had had in a while. "It must be the wedding nerves" she thought, before making the decision to remove her shoes, and chase after the cloud that was still moving further and further away from her.

She couldn't help but laugh as she chased the cloud out of the trees and towards a rather large river. The cloud continued its path along the riverbank, and she did her best to keep up. She could not help but notice that she was starting to lose the cloud as it began to move uphill and she struggled to make her way after it amidst the thorny bushes and tall grasses. "Good thing this is a dream" she thought, as she noted how filthy and torn up her gown was becoming during the chase.

As Kalina finally arrived to the top of the hill she found herself blocking out the glare of the sun with her hand as she searched the land below for her green cloud. It didn't take her long to spot it. It was moving down the hill towards something. Well, towards someone. At the bottom of the hill, atop a white stallion, rode a rider with long blonde hair. The rider had a child behind them on the horse as well, and they rode away from her with great speed. She wanted to call out, as it looked like her cloud was heading straight for them. Sure enough, within seconds, her green cloud collided with its mark, and disappeared into the rider's back.

"Wha.." Kalina didn't have time to finish her question as the collision caused the rider to get slammed forward, causing the horse to startle, and the child to fall off the horse entirely. Kalina gasped as her hands dropped her shoes and covered her mouth in horror.

The rider spun around, and she realized that the rider was a male. A handsome one, but an angry one. He spun around and immediately spotted her at the top of the hill. He glared, obviously upset with being struck and having his companion fall to the ground. Within the span of a second, he revealed a bow and arrow, with the latter aimed directly at her. Kalina's eyes widened. "NO" she screamed out, as she made to run, only to trip on the tattered veil she had been dragging.

She knew what was coming. And it felt like slow motion as she felt her footing slip and she began to tumble down the hill towards the armed rider.

It might have been comical, had she seen it in a movie or something; but in real life...or at least in a real life dream...it was quite different. It hurt. A lot. She hated herself now for choosing a dress with a skirt full of satin puffs. It made her slide down the hill all the more slippery, and regardless of how many times Kalina tried to stop herself from tumbling, all she did was scratch up her hands and let out another yelp. It felt like she was falling for an eternity, when it was probably no more than fifteen or twenty seconds. She felt her eyes widen as she noticed that she was heading in a slight diagonal now, caused by her grasping at weeds during her plummet, and from the looks of it, she was now headed towards an even steeper fall into the rocky river below.

"Oh for the love of..." Kalina grumbled. "Please wake up. Please wake up" she cried out before finding herself with a mouthful of weeds as she continued to tumble.

Kalina closed her eyes, praying once more for the fall to end, and just as she felt her feet go over the edge, she felt the strong pair of hands that caught hold of her flailing arms and pulled her upright to a standing position. It happened so quickly, that it took her a second to even realize what had occurred. She now stood on the edge of the small drop, looking down into the rocky water with her heart racing a mile a minute. She took several deep breaths, hoping to calm herself down, and as she did so, she began to realize that she was leaning up against something. Or rather, someone. She could feel the steady rising and falling of the sturdy chest she leant against, and rather than turning around to see the face of her rescuer, she simply let her head fall backwards, and sure enough, the back of her head sat perfectly on the shoulder of the man behind her.

He looked puzzled by this action, and stared down at her in confusion. The first thing she noted was how stunning his bright blue eyes were. They had speckles of grey in them, that seemed to sparkle with question as he rose an eyebrow at her. He was unquestionably handsome; almost a spitting image of someone she had seen in a magazine or something. His blonde hair hung loosely around his face, and his high cheekbones gave him a sense of regality. She couldn't help but simultaneously smile and blush as she looked up at him.

"Hello" was all she could say, in a voice that sounded almost drunk. The dream was certainly taking its toll on her.

His eyebrow stayed risen. "Hello" he copied.

"I'm sorry that my necklace hit you." This was a silly comment, she knew that, and sure enough, it earned her an even more confused look from the man, whose eyes then moved down to his other shoulder. Kalina allowed her eyes to follow his, and she found herself moving to stand on her own, now directly facing him. Her eyes never left his shoulder though, because it was now glowing green underneath the shirt her wore. Instinctively, she reached out to place her hand on his shoulder, but he backed away slightly, and his face now wore the expression of a glare.

"What magic is this?" he asked, and Kalina met his eyes again. She wanted to explain to him, but all of a sudden they were interrupted, as another figure joined them. It was the 'child' that had fallen from the horse. Only, it wasn't a child at all. It was a small bearded man with a gruff voice, approaching with an axe in hand.

"Now see here, lass" the small man began, but Kalina had stopped listening. She shook her head and turned around. She could vaguely hear the two figures behind her speaking, but she ignored them. She looked at the river again, before closing her eyes. "Wake up" she begged herself. "Wake up."

Nothing happened.

"Wake up. Wake up."

Again, nothing.

Kalina felt tears appear in her eyes. Taking another deep breath, she slowly turned around and faced the blond man once more. He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"My lady?" he began softly. "Are you alright?"

Kalina shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks now. She bit down on her lip as she tried to make sense of what was happening to her. It was proving impossible.

"Why won't I wake up?"


	3. Compass

A huge thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited, and /or followed this story! It means a lot to me, and I sincerely appreciate any type of feedback you guys can provide.

I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Sorry for the delay in updating!

Hidden

Part One

Chapter 2 – Compass

A few hours after their unexpected run-in, Kalina sat with her new companions around the startings of a small fire. It was just beginning to darken, and Kalina watched as the two friends quietly set up their camp. The shorter of the two tended the fire in between puffs on his pipe, while the other, the one that had saved her from falling into the river, offered their steed an apple and a few gentle pats along his mane. She was seated on a fallen log, and was hesitant to say anything. She reasoned it was because she was still in shock.

So far, she had been informed that her companions were an elf named Legolas, and a dwarf named Gimli. The land was a place they called Middle Earth, and somehow she had magically ended up here. She tried over and over again to wake herself, or to tell herself that she must be crazy, because none of this could be true. The two people she was with were characters from a book. The land they called home was from that very same book, and it couldn't be real. Yet, here she sat, still in her wedding dress, with very real cuts along both of her arms.

"_I feel the pain of my injuries, so it can't be a dream, right? You can't feel pain in dreams, can you?"_ she questioned silently. _"Then all of this has to be real. But how?"_

"So this book that you speak of," began Gimli, as she took another puff from his pipe and came to a seat beside her. "You say that in this book, we are characters from it?"

Kalina nodded. "Yes. Important characters, I think."

"You think?" Gimli didn't seem impressed at hearing this.

"I haven't actually read it" admitted Kalina, feeling her face grow warm with embarrassment. "I've been meaning to. I have. I know the basics of the story, but nothing too specific." She cringed as she pictured the book sitting on her desk, amidst the stack of many books that Nigel had lectured her for not reading. She always said that she would get to them eventually. Too bad she was so good at procrastinating.

"The basics?" Gimli's brow was raised.

Kalina nodded again. "The plot."

"The plot." Gimli's mimicking of her words was starting to get a little irritating. It was bad enough that she was still trying to make sense of this whole situation herself. His continued interrogation was not helping. "And what was the plot, might I ask?"

Kalina closed her eyes, and began to rub her temples. "I don't know. It's about this guy who has to destroy a magic ring. He's traveling with this other wizard guy, and they…sorry…you guys go up a mountain or something. Like I said, I don't know a lot. All I know is that the ring is destroyed, and one of your friends becomes a king." She couldn't help but groan at her lack of ability to tell the dwarf what he wanted to hear. And she didn't miss the look that he sent in Legolas' direction. It was one that expressed amusement. The amusement was at her expense, that much she was sure of. The quick glace she shot at the elf showed no emotion that she could read, and she found herself getting frazzled again.

"Look, I know you think I sound crazy. Hell, I know that what I am saying sounds crazy. But this whole thing is crazy. You guys are not supposed to be real."

"We are real, lass. I can assure you of that truth." The dwarf's amusement seemed to be gone.

"Well I can assure you that I am speaking the truth too" Kalina shot back, unintentionally yelling. "I didn't ask for this, alright. I…I'm supposed to be getting married right now. I'm supposed to be with Nigel right now, being bombarded with congratulations, and enjoying a ridiculously small and expensive piece of chicken!" She paused, and felt a tear fall down her cheek as another thought entered her mind. "Oh no. Nigel! What is he thinking right now? Does he think I'm dead? Does he think I abandoned him at the altar?" She covered her mouth as the horrific images flashed before her eyes. He would be heartbroken.

Her thoughts were halted as she felt the soft embrace of a warm cloak being wrapped around her shoulders. It smelled of pine, and as she looked up, she saw that it had been Legolas who had placed it on her. The elf came to a knee in front of her, and his expression was soft and caring. As though he were looking at a wounded animal or something. She was suddenly aware of how just how pathetic she must have looked and sounded.

"You may not have asked for this, but you were brought here none the less" he spoke finally. He touched his shoulder, which still had a slight glow of green where the necklace had hit and disappeared into him, as he continued. "There is a magic at work here that none of us understand. A magic that has, by abrupt and unexpected means, brought us together." She knew he referred to her necklace colliding into him and knocking Gimli off the horse.

"Sorry about that" Kalina interrupted, gesturing to his shoulder. He returned her words with a look that seemed to both comfort her, while at the same time question whether or not she was genuine. "I just want to go home" she added, pulling the cloak more tightly around her.

Legolas nodded in understanding, but it was Gimli who replied.

"Then we'll do what we can to help you get back there, lass."

Kalina smiled for the first time since encountering these two by the river. "Thank you" she said. She watched as they went back to working around the camp. She felt a tingly sensation creep over her, and she bit her lip as she glanced around the surrounding area. Spotting a secluded, bushy area to their right, she smiled and stood up, laying the cloak on the log. Gimli looked over at her questioningly.

" I um.. if you will excuse me" she began, noticing that Legolas now looked over curiously as well. "I'm just going to sneak into the woods for a moment."

"Why is that?" the dwarf asked, not bothering to hide his confusion and slight suspicion.

"I… I have to pee." The blush that immediately covered the face of the dwarf was completely worth her own embarrassment.

"Oh! Well, by all means, don't let us stop you" Gimli quickly replied gruffly.

Kalina couldn't help but smirk a tad when she saw how embarrassed the dwarf looked all of a sudden. She found herself giggle for the first time since she had been in her changing room at the church this morning. The thought immediately brought a sad feeling over her, and after a quick glance in the elf's direction, she disappeared into the foliage to relieve herself at a far enough distance that she felt a bit of privacy.

After she disappeared, Gimli cast a glance at his friend, who had come to stand beside him. Legolas said nothing, and stared into the flames. It would have appeared to anyone else that the elf had not seen the look from the dwarf, but Gimli knew better, and waited patiently for Legolas to let him know that the girl was out of hearing distance. It took a few moments, but soon enough, Legolas met the dwarf's stare, and gave a slight nod of reassurance that the two could speak without being heard.

"Do you trust her, laddie?" Gimli didn't waste any time.

"Her confusion, speech, mannerisms, even her clothing does suggest that there is truth behind her story."

"If her story is true, then we are nothing more than characters in a book. Characters she _thinks _might have been important." The dwarf's displeasure with this made Legolas smile at him.

"That is what most concerns you about all of this, mellon nin?" the elf asked, still smiling.

Gimli glared back at him, but with a bit of humor in his eyes. "No, that part I can, and will, fix." He let the silence fill the air for a moment before continuing. "Do you think we can trust her?" He repeated his question, as Legolas had not outright answered him yet.

Legolas hesitated in thought for a moment, but nodded. "For now, yes. At least until she gives us reason not to." As he spoke this, both their eyes fell to his shoulder that still glowed. "It does not hurt" he answered the dwarf's unspoken question. "It does not seem to be affecting me at all, except for the light it is emitting."

Gimli grumbled at this. "Regardless. It needs to be fixed. And if the girl doesn't know how to reverse it, then we need to find someone who will know how to do it." Legolas agreed with him immediately, but could see that the dwarf already seemed to have a plan in mind.

"What do you propose, mellon nin?"

"How far away is the Lorien?"

Legolas smiled, knowing that Gimli would hardly have suggested going to the elves for help had the Lady of Light not resided in that forest. He chose not to tease his friend though, and gave the dwarf an answer to the question he posed. "It will take a fortnight at least, as we shall not all be able to ride the distance."

"A fortnight is it then" Gimli replied, feeling fully in charge of the situation. "We'll get your shoulder fixed up, find out what's going on with the girl, and then be on our way to complete your promise." By promise he referred to Legolas' vow to visit and tour the Glittering Caves, and he planned to make sure the elf felt just as out of place as he had during their time exploring Fangorn.

It was then that the two friends heard the stumbling of Kalina returning to them from the bushes. Both returned to the tasks they had been tending to before she left.

"Well that was fun" Kalina spoke as she sat back down on the log, and wrapped Legolas' cloak around herself tightly again. She had only ever been camping a few times in her life, and in each of those times it was always in a place where there were working washrooms nearby. Peeing on the ground was something she was new to, and not particularly fond of.

She could tell by how quiet it was that the two had probably just been speaking about her. _"They were probably trying to decide whether I'm crazy or not"_ she thought with a shake of her head. Her thoughts were interrupted as she found herself being handed a piece of bread from the dwarf who had taken a seat right beside her now. She took it with a polite nod; only to have a flask shoved into her other hand.

"The ale is strong, but it'll warm your bones" Gimli insisted with a grin. Kalina matched the grin, and took a big sip of it. It tasted horrible, but she was grateful for the distraction of her own thoughts.

"Thank you" she replied as she passed the flask back to him. He laughed and took a big sip himself before handing it back. Legolas has also joined them now, sitting cross legged on the ground on the other side of their fire. "Would you like some?" she offered, but he shook his head.

"No, but thank you" he answered quietly. He smiled at her, and she felt her cheeks burn. She knew she was going red, and it caused her to immediately look to the ground. She knew it wasn't the drink that was causing this. Legolas was. He had an effect on her. She sensed it almost right away. He was extremely handsome, and while a part of her felt instant guilt for being attracted to another man while still wearing her wedding gown, on the day she was suppose to be marrying Nigel, another part of her relished in the sweet feel of normalness. She always blushed when she spoke to a guy that she found attractive, and it was comforting to know that some things, even in completely different worlds that housed magical and mythical creatures, were still the same.

Kalina found herself smiling genuinely back at the elf, who suddenly looked at her in a much more serious way, as though he were surprised by her action. "How's the shoulder?" she asked, desiring to spark conversation with him.

His reply came quickly. "My shoulder is fine. I'm still a bit confused as to what happened though. You say it was a necklace that hit me?"

Kalina nodded. "Yes. It was a necklace of mine. One I had always worn; since far before I can even remember. When I woke up here, it transformed into some sort of cloud of glitter" she said with a laugh, knowing how strange that sounded. "It started floating away, and I dunno, I just started to follow after it. It was so dream like. I just kept chasing after it. It was like it was leading me somewhere and I knew I needed to follow it."

Legolas and Gimli were watching her closely as she answered. It was the elf who spoke next.

"You say it was leading you. Leading you where?"

"To you" her response came so quickly that it surprised even her. The blush returned to her cheeks. "I mean… I guess… I dunno. I assume it was leading to you. I mean it only stopped because it slammed into your back."

"Yes, and knocked me out of the way in the process" Gimli interrupted with a growl. Legolas sent the dwarf a curt look at that, but Kalina spoke again, as though she hadn't even heard him.

"When this is all over," she began, locking eyes with Legolas in a pleading way. "I'd really like to have it back." Tears began to fall down her cheeks now. "It may sound silly, but that necklace means a lot to me. Like I said, I've always had it with me. It's kind of like a comfort thing. No matter what has ever happened, it has always been there. Always close" she found herself rubbing the bare skin of her throat where the chain had always touched.

She was brought out of her reverie by Legolas, who placed a hand on her shoulder. "I will do whatever I can to give it back to you" he said softly. He was looking at her like she was a child who had scrapped her knee, and he was trying to make her feel better. Still, she smiled and thanked him for his promise.

It was not long after this that Gimli handed her a small sack. It was a bedroll, and both he and Legolas insisted that she get some rest. The dwarf had laid one down for himself on the opposite side of the dwindling fire, and was beginning to settle himself down for a couple hours sleep. Kalina was quick t o realize that Legolas was not doing the same, and she figured that this was because she had been given his bedding.

"I can't take this" she began to explain. "What are you suppose to use?" She didn't like the idea of leaving the elf with nothing.

"It will be a long day tomorrow, and we have far to travel. You will need the rest more than I."

"Why? Where are we traveling to?" This changed her train of thought for a moment.

"We head for Lorien in the morning, lass" Gimli answered. "We will find help there."

"Help to get me home?" Her hopes instantly sky rocketed.

"Trust me, lass" Gimli replied with a smile. "If anyone will know how to get you home, the Lady Galadriel will."

"Lady Galadriel?"

"Ah, yes. The Lady of Light. She is the fairest creature my eyes have ever laid eyes on" Gimli explained with a far off look in his eyes that Kalina could just make out. "An Elven Queen of both incredible wisdom and beauty."

"Taken with her, are you?" Kalina teased. It was amusing how much adoration she could hear in Gimli's voice. It was a pleasant change from the brusque way he had spoken since she had met him.

"Aye" was all he replied. He gave her a wink, and all but passed out on his bedroll.

Kalina almost laughed. She shook her head and turned back to Legolas who stood nearby, staring out into the distance. Her thoughts quickly returned to the fact that she had his bedroll. "Legolas, I really don't need this. You should take it back. I'm fine up against the log. Besides, with the cloak you leant me and this big dress, I think I have more than enough fabric surrounding me."

If he understood that she was trying to make a joke, he sure didn't show it. He turned around and his expression was back to being unreadable again. "In the past few months that I have had this bedroll, I have used it on only two occasions" he explained, as he took it from her and laid it on the ground at her feet.

"Only twice?" She was confused.

"Elves do not require the sleep that other races do" he answered. He must have sensed the awe that she felt, because he smirked as he continued. "As I said, you need this much more than I. So, please, take some rest. It will be a long day tomorrow. I shall take the first watch."

Kalina nodded. She was beginning to sense that there was a lot more to her companions than she could even begin to understand. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask, but figured that she had all of tomorrow to get answers to them. So she laid herself down on the bedroll, using the cloak as a blanket. The air was beginning to chill a bit more now that the fire was dying out, and she found herself watching Legolas head back to the edge of their small camp.

"Legolas" she called out quietly, as not to wake the dwarf that was sleeping a few feet away. He turned back to her once again, and though she imagined that he was beginning to get annoyed by her constant questioning and whining, she forced herself to continue. "Do you think that Lady Galadriel will really be able to help?"

There was a fairly long silence that followed. She was beginning to think that he might not reply, when suddenly he moved back to her side and knelt down. "As Gimli said, if anyone will have an idea as to how to help you, it will be her. Worry a little less tonight, close your eyes, and get some sleep. We will seek answers to our queries tomorrow."

"_He must be a father, or have younger siblings"_ she thought instantly. He was far too good at this to not have had a lot of practise. "I'm scared." The words just popped out. She closed her eyes, embarrassed at how pathetic and childish she probably seemed to him. It wasn't until she felt him take her hand that she opened them up again.

She watched in amazement as he placed her palm on his shoulder that still glowed green from her necklace. He didn't speak a word as their eyes locked. The gesture was simple, and she understood right away. She had told him that the necklace had provided her comfort, and he was offering her that comfort in the only way he could in their current situation. It was incredibly sweet, and it succeeded in helping to dissolve some of her fears. At least for the moment. _"Yes"_ she thought _"he has absolutely done this before."_

"Good night, Legolas" she said as he released her hand and stood up once again.

"Good night" he answered, and returned to his watch.

Kalina's mind raced as she tried to fall asleep. So much had happened in the last 24 hours. She had woken up this morning with every intention of marrying Nigel. Everything had been going according to plan, and in a flash, literally, everything was different. Now she was in a place she didn't recognize, with no way of getting home. And here she lay, resting in a tattered wedding gown on a makeshift sleeping bag somewhere in the wilderness with a dwarf and an elf for company. She couldn't help, and she almost laughed at the thought that Nigel would have loved this if their places had been switched. He'd probably be having the time of his life, had he found himself in her place.

But as it happened, their positions were not switched. Nigel was back home, and she couldn't begin to imagine what he was thinking about her sudden disappearance. She hoped that he didn't think that she had ran out on him. But what alternative was there? That she had been kidnapped? Killed? She cringed at every possibility, and prayed that Legolas and Gimli were right, and that Lady Galadriel would be able to help.

Kalina wasn't sure what it was that caused her to trust the elf and dwarf so quickly, but despite all that seemed crazy in her life right now, the one thing she didn't doubt at the moment was the fact that these two were trustworthy. They would do what they could to help her. She knew that, and she finally managed to fall asleep knowing that that they were her silver lining.


	4. Backtrack

Wow! It has been a while since I've updated! Sorry about the big delay. Life got crazy for a while, and sadly, it pulled me away from my writing time. However, now that things have settled down a bit, I am happy to get back to 'Hidden' and eagerly await your response to it.

All of your feedback is appreciated, and I sincerely apologize for the delay in getting out chapter 3. I hope you like it, and I promise that you won't have to wait nearly as long for the next installment.

Now, my friends, onwards we go.

Hidden

Part One

Chapter 3

"How are you feeling?"

Kalina wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. Since she had awoken, she and her companions had rushed to pack up their camp and ready themselves for the journey to Lothlorien. Gimli had insisted she have a hearty breakfast, and her grumbling stomach agreed with him. She had devoured at least six pieces of dried meat, and an apple that she swore the horse was glaring at her for eating. Afterwards, she found herself shoving her feet into an extra pair of Legolas' boots. As predicted, they were rather big on her, and she needed to tie a small piece of rope around at each ankle to keep them from falling off. _'Still'_ she thought, _'it's better than traipsing around the countryside in heels.'_

"Well," she began, "considering the fact that I am sitting on top of a giant horse, in a world that up until yesterday I thought was make-believe, when I should have been boarding a plane to Europe for my honeymoon…." She paused for dramatic effect. "Uh, yep, I think I'm feeling pretty good. Insane, but good."

Gimli shot an exasperated look at Legolas. "Well, lass, that was a bit of a longer answer than I expected. But I heard 'good' in there somewhere… so good."

His response made Kalina laugh. "Sorry," she said as the dwarf got himself adjusted in the saddle behind her. "I tend to ramble a bit when I get overwhelmed."

"Not to worry" Gimli assured, patting her on the shoulder as their steed began his trot, following the elf, who was walking a few paces ahead. "I believe that you have reason to be a bit overwhelmed. Especially riding atop this fickle creature."

"You would be wise to watch your tongue, mellon nin" Legolas warned, not looking back, as he began stroking the animal's mane. "Arod is not fickle at all. In fact, he will react quite predictably when he decides to throw you again should he believe you are insulting him." The elf's warning was answered by a grunt from the dwarf, who Kalina felt hold onto her a little tighter.

"Please don't make him throw us off" Kalina begged the dwarf behind her. "I'd really rather not have being thrown off of a horse added to the course of events that have taken place in my life lately."The statement was sort of made as a joke, as Kalina tried to distract herself from stressing out over what had happened. She had been a wreck yesterday. Understandably so, but still, she preferred to not have these two think of her as a completely helpless damsel. She told herself that she had to at least appear more put together today.

Unfortunately, her companions had no intention of helping in this matter, and decided to start questioning her again.

"Lady Kalina, I must ask you something" Legolas began. "You spoke of what occurred after the flash of light that brought you here. But, what may I ask, occurred before hand?"

Kalina hesitated as she thought back to what had happened yesterday. It all seemed somewhat fuzzy now. The elf was patient, and remained silent as she composed what she was going to say.

"It happened so quickly, that I don't really even know what happened. I was in the dressing room, getting ready. Nigel had just come to see me…which I told him was bad luck." The extensiveness of the bad luck was not lost on her at the moment. "I was just about ready, when…" she paused as she remembered what came next. "A man came to the door. He was confused. He came to the wrong ceremony I assumed. He said he was my uncle."

Something about the mention of this man made each of the companions pay extra attention now.

"He was confused" she repeated, as the image replayed in her mind. "He said he was searching for me. He called me by a strange name."

"What name?" Gimli inquired, sending an anxious look in Legolas' direction.

Kalina thought back. "I don't really remember. It was something strange. In another language or something."

"What did he look like?" the dwarf questioned again. The look on Kalina's face told the two friends with her that her mind was not really with them at the moment. She was back in her dressing room, and so they waited patiently for her to recall the answer to Gimli's question.

The image of the man at her door was indeed flashing before Kalina's eyes. "He was…. older, ragged, like he'd been without a shower for a couple of weeks."

"Was he human?"

Kalina gaffed at Gimli's question. "Of course he was human!" she exclaimed. "Why on Earth would you ask…." She quickly remembered why he that piece of information would be relevant in the world she currently inhabited and nodded an apology. "Yes, I think so" she answered, as the most important piece of information about the man came back to her. "He was scary."

"Did this man say anything else that you can remember?" It was Legolas who asked this now, staring up at her from beside the stallion she sat upon.

Kalina shook her head. "No. He just… he reached for me. I tried to pull away but he grabbed me." Instinctively, she placed a hand over her forearm where he had touched her. That's when it came back to her. Her eyes opened much wider as she met the elf's eyes with her own. "Yes! He grabbed me! That's when it happened. That's when the flash happened. That's when I ended up here."

Everything was suddenly swimming, and Kalina felt short of breath. "He did this!" she was sure of it. "That jerk is the one who sent me here!" She didn't know if she was happy, relieved, or furious about her revelation. Though, it was probably a mixture of all three.

"You are sure of this?" Legolas seemed less convinced. She met his eyes again. Only this time, for the first time actually, she did so without feeling pathetic or lost.

"It had to be him. It had to. He said he was searching for me for crying out loud."

"But you do not remember what he called you?" This would have been a greatly helpful clue in figuring all of this out, and the dwarf seemed as unsure as the elf did.

Kalina shook her head for what felt like the millionth time. She could see that while this sudden revelation made sense to her, the others were not jumping to same conclusion. It was a leap, she knew, but she also knew, somehow, that she was right. That man. His face was burned into her memory now, like a brand. He was responsible for this.

She thought back to when she had opened the door. _'I've been searching for you'_ he has said. And then he has called her something. She racked her brain, trying to recall the strange name. It started with an R and it was long. At least three syllables…what was it?

"Rathewyn" that was it. "Rathewyn."

Kalina couldn't help but grin ear to ear. Yes, that was it. She looked first to Gimli, whose face looked like he was sucking on something sour. The name clearly didn't mean anything to him. Undeterred, she then looked down to the elf. His expression was far different than Gimli's had been. In fact, she could have sworn that she saw something almost akin to recognition in his eyes for a fraction of a second. "Does that name mean anything to you?" he asked, beating her to the exact same question she was about to ask him.

"No, it doesn't" she answered honestly. However, before she could ask the same of him, Legolas nodded in acceptance, and the look on his face was unreadable again. He offered up nothing to suggest that he did recognize the name, and so, for the moment, Kalina decided to trust that his silence meant that he was as clueless as she was.

"Let us hope that we find more answers in Lorien" Gimli interrupted, clearly anxious to get moving. "Which direction does our road take us, Master Elf?" he continued.

Legolas was walking a little ways ahead of them again, and answered without looking back. "Our route takes us northwest, back towards Fangorn Forest" the elf began with an unseen smirk, knowing how much that would irritate the dwarf. Kalina smiled too, at the sound of the dwarf's immediate grumbling. "But not to worry, mellon nin. While our final destination shall take about two weeks to reach, Fangorn is just around the river bend."

Kalina froze. She knew that Legolas' words were not intended to, but they caused her blood to run cold. Her breathing quickened, as she remembered her last few moments with Nigel. He had interrupted her in her dressing room while listening to the very song that Legolas had unknowingly just named. The thoughts of Nigel caused her to stiffen and pull a little harder on the reigns she held. Arod jerked at her action, and while Legolas turned around concerned, she didn't notice. "Oh Nigel, I'm so sorry" she whispered solemnly, while silently praying that she would be able to get back to him. She cringed at their last encounter. While it had ended sweetly, it had begun with him walking in on her listening to…oh how did he put it _'a song about a woman who was wondering if she should get married or not.'_ Oh, how she feared that he now believed that was what had happened. That she decided that she didn't want to marry him. Good Lord, why had he had to walk in during that stupid song?

"That song!" she gasped, as a realization jerked her out of her worried reverie. She had still been playing the music when the other man came to her room. She had just changed the song to something more romantic. Kalina couldn't help but smile as a glimmer of hope warmed her heart. She had just changed the song. She still had the phone in her hand when that man had touched her. She still had her phone in her hand when the flash erupted. She still had her phone in her hand when she was brought here!

"I have to go back" she exclaimed suddenly in an excited tone.

"As I said before, lass" Gimli replied, unaware of her reasoning. "Lady Galadriel is our best shot at getting you back to your home."

Kalina shook her head at his words. "No, that's not what I mean" she began as she tried to pull the reigns to make Arod start in the direction of the small woods that she had come from yesterday. The horse had no intention on cooperating, and let out a noise of what could only be described as a stubborn refusal, while jerking his head, and nearly pulled the reigns right out of her hands. "Oh, come on" Kalina groaned, as she tossed the reigns, and ungracefully swung her leg over the horse's head to leap down off of his back. Unsurprisingly, she landed on her hands and knees with a fairly painful thud on the ground below.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gimli hollered down at her as he tried his best to control the beast he now sat atop alone.

Gathering up the long skirts of her wedding gown, Kalina began to run in the direction of the hill that she had recently taken a tumble down, knowing that just over top of it, lay the woods she sought. "I have to go back for it" was all she said as she took off as fast as she possibly could. She could hear Gimli grumbling, and continuing to try and tame Arod, but she didn't look back. She needed to get back to the woods. She didn't have the phone on her, but she was certain it had to have come with her to this place. After all, she had been holding it. Perhaps it would help her reach Nigel. Perhaps it would help her explain. Perhaps it would even help her get home. She did her best to ignore the quiet voice in her head that argued against this, and instead tried to focus all of her energy on getting back to the woods as quickly as possible.

She had barely begun her ascent of the hill when she noticed the figure of Legolas appear beside her. She shot him a slight glance as she panted and continued to run. In that brief glance she noted that he was not running as she was. He was walking briskly, at most, but keeping up with her. His eyes did not meet hers, and instead remained in front of them. She also noted, begrudgingly, that he did not look nearly as exhausted by the hill as she was.

"What is it that you are seeking?" he asked, his voice even, as he followed along beside her.

Kalina continued to try and control her breathing as they reached the top of the hill. The run was taking it out of her, and she could feel the beads of sweat on both her brow, and dripping down her back. "I had my phone with me" she began, while inwardly hating herself for allowing her gym membership to go to waste. Suddenly all of her decisions to eat ice cream and watch episodes of 'Sex and the City' rather than hopping on the treadmill seemed very wrong. She found herself bending forward, with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath, watching Legolas continue his strides towards the cluster of trees without her. "It has to still be on the ground somewhere."

"What is a phone?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at her as he glanced back to her. She could tell that he was not impressed by her lack of stamina, and that shot to her ego gave her the push she needed to stand upright again and chase after him as she answered.

"It's something we use to talk to each other" she began as she started to jog next to him as he scanned the area around them. It was funny in a way. She never thought that she would have to explain what a phone was. Yet, here she was, explaining one…to an elf no less. "We use them to talk to people that are far away from us. Almost like letter writing, except instead of an address, there is a number that you press, and then you can talk instantly, back and forward through it; as though side by side like we are now."

That was a fairly good explanation, if she said so herself. She looked at Legolas to gauge his reaction. He had none that she could see on his face, which caused her to sigh. She was about to continue, when finally, he spoke again.

"And you think this _phone_ will allow you to talk to someone from where you are from?" he met her eyes as he asked this. And she couldn't help but smile at him.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

Legolas raised an eyebrow again, though this time it was not in an unimpressed way. No, this time it almost seemed playful. "Indeed" he answered, causing her to laugh. She couldn't help it. For the first time since arriving here, she was feeling excited. She had a shot, and it lay somewhere in the woods they were finally approaching.

Still holding up the fabric of her gown, in an attempt not to trip, Kalina pushed past branch after branch as she entered the cluster of trees. Legolas she noted had grown incredibly quiet as they continued. He had turned around, just as they entered to check on the dwarf, who was slowly but surely following after them on the horse. Kalina could tell that the elf was following her lead, as she would have had the best guess as to where the phone would be, and she tried her best to remember exactly where she had been when she appeared in the woods.

After a couple of minutes of searching the area, she suddenly spotted the small bush that had caught hold of her veil. She let out a small growl as she pulled a torn piece of the veil from its clutches. "This is the spot" she said, turning to her left, where Legolas stood still as a statue, bow in hand, looking up into the foliage above them. He didn't reply to her words, and merely continued to study their surroundings. She watched him for a moment. _"He sure gives Santa's elves a run for their money" _she joked to herself with a smirk as she began to search the ground for her fallen phone. _"Herbie never looked like that."_

Her lighthearted musings were cut off as she stumbled over a lifted root. The stumble nearly caused her to fall right over had she not caught hold of the trunk of a nearby tree. "Come on now!" she snarled at her own clumsiness. "All I need now is to fall and break my…."

Her words were cut off by the feel of a hand coming firmly in front of her mouth as she was pulled backwards into the chest of someone behind her.

Kalina wanted to scream. She was startled by the unexpected hand, and she immediately tried to fight off the person holding onto her by grabbing at the hand and trying to elbow the person's body. That was until she managed to turn her head slightly and saw the face of Legolas only inches from her own. Slowly the realization hit her. It was Legolas who held her, and whose hand covered her mouth. She hadn't even heard him approach. It was only seconds ago that she had watched him scanning the trees.

Hundreds of thoughts swam through her mind. Among them, and probably the most prominent one was how stupid she had been to trust him. Had the dozens of Criminal Minds episodes she'd watched over the years taught her nothing? How stupid she had been. Trusting a stranger she had just met. The first thing he had done upon seeing her was aim a weapon at her for crying out loud. Yet, here she was, having fallen victim to the same ridiculously stereotypical charms and good looks that she chastised the women in those shows for falling for. How could she have been so dense?

She tried to fight against his hold again, when she saw him place a finger to his lips, silently asking her to be quiet. _'Sure'_ she thought with a roll of her eyes as she continued to struggle as she felt him hold onto her tighter as he lowered them both down to their knees. She watched him. It was curious, she noted that he didn't seem to be focused on her at all except to keep her still. It was while she pondered on this that she felt him release her, and take his bow from his back again.

"What the hell.." she began to whisper at him in an angered tone, only to have him turn to her and immediately place his index finger on her lips to silence her. She wanted to swat him away and continue to question him for his strange behaviour, but there was something about the look in his eyes now that stopped her. His eyes were directed to their left, and he was still as a statue again. This time, even his long flaxen hair didn't blow in the breeze. Every part of him was focused on something, and the coldness in his eyes told her that it wasn't something good.

Snap.

The breaking of a twig was like a gunshot that began a race. Legolas moved so quickly that she found herself falling backwards in the dirt. He had drawn an arrow from his quiver, latched it, and leapt up onto the log they had been crouched behind in a span of half a second. After that, all hell broke loose.

Sounds of muffled growls and the breaking of leaves and branches erupted from the other side of the log that Legolas had just disappeared over. Kalina's breath was heavy, as she remained frozen in place, sitting on the ground. Her whole body was shaking as she began to recognize the sounds as being that of some kind of fight. More growling, yelling, and the clashing of metal exploded less than a few meters from where she sat, and she had to force herself to calm her breathing long enough to look over the log.

Slowly, she rose her head up, and peaked over the fallen log. The sight that met her eyes made her fall back on her rear-end again in shock.

They were monsters.

Creatures of nightmares they were. Black ones, green ones, brown ones; all deformed and resembling goblins or mutated aliens that she had seen in films. Pointed features, and sharp teeth. Some of them were tall and thin, almost Legolas' height; while others were shorter than Gimli, with long black hair growing from their heads and down their backs like the stripe of a skunk. They were hideous, and there were tons of them. Kalina counted at least twenty of them, and they were all armed with machetes and axes. And what scared Kalina more than anything was that they all seemed intent of using those weapons on the sole figure that was doing his best at fighting them off.

Legolas. His movements were swift and fluid, as he had swapped his bow for a set of knives in what looked almost like a dance, as he spun and dodged the monsters, while swiping at them with deadly accuracy. He didn't look stressed out, but he was outnumbered, and Kalina wanted to scream in horror. The monsters hadn't noticed her, but she knew they would; and what would she do then? She could barely win a thumb war, never mind fight off a creature like this.

Still, she knew that Legolas needed help. More than anything she could provide. But there was someone who could. Gimli. Yes, the dwarf was on his way. She may not have been able to help Legolas fight these things, but she could try and alert Gimli, getting the dwarf to hurry up and join them.

Another two of the creatures fell to Legolas' knives as Kalina slowly, and quietly attempted to back up in the direction from which they had come. Her breathing was loud, and she knew her whole body continued to shake with fear, but as she saw one of Legolas' knives fall to the ground, the adrenaline kicked in and she jumped to her feet, taking off into a run.

"Gimli" she screamed as loud as she could, hoping to simultaneously cause a diversion to help Legolas, and capture the dwarf's attention. She ran as fast as she could, and didn't look back. She didn't need to to know that some of the creatures had now been alerted to her presence, and were in hot pursuit. She screamed again, as the blade of a machete sliced into the bark of a tree, not five centimetres from her head. This finally caused her to look behind her, and she was glad she did, for she was just in time to avoid the swing of one of the creature's clawed hands that reached out to grab her. She managed to sidestep it, by diving to the ground to her right.

"Gimli" she yelled again, as she scrambled to her feet, and attempted to flee the creature that continued to try and catch her. She found herself getting caught on branch after branch as she ran from the monster, noticing that it had caused her to reverse her tracks, and head back in the direction of the elf. "Gimli, help" she shouted again, this time with more hysteria in her voice.

Another tug on her gown caused her to fall to the ground, and she screamed again as she felt the creature grab hold of the fabric of her dress. She did her best to kick out of its grip, and crawl away from it, but she wasn't having any luck. She looked up in Legolas' direction. He was fighting four of the creatures at the moment, but she could tell that he was trying to get to her. She kicked again, but this time, when she looked back at the creature, it started screaming, and was all of a sudden being dragged off of her.

"Blame the damned horse, lassie" Gimli exclaimed as he jammed the head of his axe into the face of the creature he pulled off of her. "The blasted animal moves for no one but the elf" he finished as he offered a hand to help her up, which she happily accepted with a thankful smile.

"The elf needs help!" Kalina replied worriedly, as she gestured to the continuing fight a few yards from them.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Gimli joked, in a light hearted way, that Kalina didn't understand. "Get out of the trees, lass, we have this taken care of" he finished before letting out an excited growl and charging in the elf's direction.

Kalina watched the dwarf crash into battle, and found herself in complete awe as the two friends immediately began to fight back to back, fluid, and synchronized, as though they had done this hundreds of times before. She took a deep breath, and turned to do exactly as the dwarf has instructed, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something on the ground a few feet away. A blinking blue light under the foliage of a small plant. She recognized it right away.

It was her phone.

She smiled, despite the situation, and immediately ran for it. She crouched down, and picked it up, brushing off the dirt that covered the screen. The light was flashing, saying that the battery was less than 50% now, but she still could not help but smile. She had found it. Something that might help her. Only, she noted that the service bars were missing. No signal.

"Figures" she groaned, not really sure why this surprised her. But still, she was relieved to have found it. Now all she had to do was….

Her train of thought ended as a large shadow darkened the screen and the area of where she was crouched down. The shadow was followed by the sound of heavy breathing, and a glob of drool falling onto her shoulder. Her fear overcame her disgust, and she finally forced herself to look up at whatever was standing over her.

"Rathewyn" it growled as she slowly and shakily locked eyes with one of the most hideous beasts she had ever seen. Kalina flinched away as its grimy hand reached for her, ready to tear flesh from bone.

She screamed.


End file.
